Gridiron Experts

Gridiron Experts Power Rankings AUG. 2nd

32. Buffalo Bills
CJ Spiller has all the tools to be a playmaker in this league, well except for an offensive line in front of him, a quarterback to take the pressure off, and well you see where I’m going with this. The Bills are going to need a franchise quarterback before they move on this list.
31.St. Louis Rams
The Rams, in theory, should be a better team this year, but it’s still up in the air and truly depends on how NFL ready Sam Bradford is by the start of the season. Steven Jackson has always been the Rams workhorse, and that won’t change this year, expect another grand out of him in 2010.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are still rebuilding. This process can sometimes be long a frustrating, yet in the forseeable future they’ll find themselves on day on the outside looking in on any power rankings list. Every team must rebuild sooner or later but for this season ahead, the Buc’s will be leaning on too many young players and the inexperience will show.
29. Cleveland Browns
The Browns biggest flaw is their division, it’s just too hard to be competitive against perennial powerhouses like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. They did have a great draft and made some key off-season additions, with a revamped secondary expect them to move up this list in a year.
28. Detroit Lions
The Lions were the movers and shakers of the off-season, making some key additions. If only for the next few years, adding Jahvid Best to a backfield commandeered by Matt Stafford could be just what the Lions needed. Best will make plays and take some of the focus off of Calvin Johnson.
27. Oakland Raiders
For the first time in years, the Raiders impressed us all during the draft, adding a top-tier middle linebacker and shipping Kirk Morrison to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Not to mention ditching JaMarcus Russell in favor of Jason Campbell, an automatic upgrade. Although for now, they’re still on the outside looking in.
26.Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs have revamped their coaching staff and drafted (and paid) a play making safety in Eric Berry. Dexter McCluster will give add that x-factor to the offense and give Jamaal Charles some relief at the running back spot. Matt Cassell will get one more chance to show that he’s worth the money they’re paying him.
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars are a team that can never seem to get it together when it truly counts, their first rounder is considered a huge reach by the entire NFL community and if he doesn’t pan out, Jags fans can happily say goodbye to Jack Del Rio. Maurice Jones-Drew will set the pace for the offense once more. …Continue reading NFL Power Rankings

NFL Fantasy RB Strength Of Schedule

Stats are always made to be broken. A sneaky run that goes for 60 yards after a long day of nothing but frustration happens all the time. Yet, a fantasy football strength of schedule list is a helpful tool to evaluate a players chances against a season’s worth of opponents. Many fantasy sites go about making such a spreadsheet by simply taking the top 10 toughest defenses, the 10 worst defenses, compare the results and hit the print button.

Gridiron Experts has gone beyond the cookie-cutter stats to analyze each game, giving what we think is a better prediction based on extended criteria.

If you think a new NFL week doesn’t come without lingering aches and pains from the week before, not to mention jet-lag, you’re dead wrong. Long road trips, teams off BYE weeks, and divisional match-ups are just a few of the factors we took into account when compiling this list. Other increments include: fantasy playoff match-ups, “overlook” games, and recent additions to a team’s defensive roster.

Here are our top 3 best and worst Running Back Strength of Schedule Teams in 2010

3 BEST RB Schedules

San Fransisco: A+

The 49er’s get three road games out of the way quickly to start the season. Early on, the tougher opponents like the Saints, Eagles and Broncos are all at home, which is a plus. Their bye week is comfortably placed in the middle of the season, and even the late 2-game road trip to Arizona and Green Bay isn’t as bad as it seems. The Packers themselves are off a tough 2 game road trip and shouldn’t be that fresh after just facing Adrian Peterson and Michael Turner. The icing on the cake is the fantasy playoff match-up. Depending on whether your league holds it’s Super Bowl in wk 16 or 17, the 49er’s face 3 out of 4 divisional opponents, which looks like gravy.

Even the road trip to San Diego in December is a gift with no snow or cold temperature. Throw in a few possible jackpot games against St. Louis (2), Carolina, Kansas City, and the cross-country trip the Bucs have to make, and Frank Gore has moved up our fantasy board.

Dallas Cowboys: A

The Coyboys don’t have a ton of easy rushing match-ups, but they don’t have any hard ones either. The second half of their NFL schedule is where we give all our high marks. Starting week 12 Dallas sees opponents that in essence are all the same type of build and chemistry. The Saints, Colts and Eagles style are all about getting that early lead, then blitzing you with their speedy pass rushers. The Cowboys have a great …Continue reading Fantasy RB Strength Of Schedule

The 2010 NFL Coaching Hot Seat

Jerry Glanville once told an NFL official that if he kept making calls against his Atlanta Falcons squad, that he’d be out of coaching and “selling groceries”. He never did have to apply at his local supermarket, but Glanville did lose his job. Every year numerous NFL coaches do.

The coaching “hot seat” is the term used for the Head Coaches that are perceived to be in a perilous situation entering the upcoming NFL season. Some will rally the troops and save their jobs, for the time being. Others will suffer the fate of another disappointing season, and the inevitable pink slip. Let’s take a look at some coaches on the hot seat in 2010…

Eric Mangini- Cleveland- Mangini made some terrible decisions in his first year in Cleveland: refusing to name a starting quarterback before the season, sticking with Derek Anderson for 7 starts despite a 44% completion percentage and a TD to INT ratio of 3 to 10, and under-using Jerome Harrison until the last month of the season. The only 2 reasons that Mangini is back is because of the season ending 4 game winning streak (powered by Harrison), and the hiring of former NFL coach Mike Holmgren, who seemingly sympathized with Mangini and kept him on board. The Browns actually seem to be worse heading into 2010…and when you analyze the current 4 game winning streak you see the final 3 wins were against Kansas City, Oakland, and Jacksonville…all bad teams. It will take one surprising turnaround this year to keep the “Man genius” in the Dawg Pound in 2011. …Continue reading The 2010 NFL Coaching Hot Seat

Every year we head into training camp with our eye on key positions and rookies who could add that extra push. Nobody cares who steps up, as long as the job gets done and the weak links are filled. Focusing on fantasy football, we are going to overlook some of the less important roster spots, and instead fire off questions and predictions for each team in the eyes of the fantasy football fan.

Arizona Cardinals
Spotlight Is On: Matt Leinart- A former first round pick who lost his job and found a comfortable spot on the bench is all of a sudden getting his second chance. The NFL usually chews you up and spits you out, so for Leinart a do-over is a real gift. Frankly, we see more attention spent on the running game this season to relieve some of the pressure. Regardless, this second chance could be the last chance for number 7. Can the shoes be filled? Or is Matt about to trip?
Camp Sleeper: Steve Breaston
Star-Brewing: Chris Wells

Atlanta Falcons
What’s the Deal with Michael Turner? A power running back who was a yard shy of 1700 yards two seasons ago just fell off the map in 2009. A high ankle sprain left fantasy owners angry and kicking furniture over, with his vanilla type numbers. Is he back? Can we move him up the fantasy boards? What’s the deal?
Camp Sleeper: Harry Douglas

Baltimore Ravens
Is there Bonding Going on Here? The Anquan Boldin and Joe Flacco combo is one we’re all not sure of. Flacco has needed a player who can stretch the field for some time, as Mason is more of tough possession wide receiver. The running game is counting on some sort of passing attack, and so are keeper league owners of the recently traded Cardinal.
Camp Sleeper:  TE Ed Dickson
Take a Seat: Todd Heap

Buffalo Bills
So You Have 3 Running Backs…Really? Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, and C.J. Spiller are apparently going to be used in a very creative offense that we can already predict to be a failure. There are a million questions with this team, but for now let’s just try to figure out who’s going to be the guy at RB. All the other fantasy options shouldn’t be a concern to you right now, or at all this season.
Camp Sleeper: Brain Brohm- our vote to win the $10 beauty contest.

Carolina Panthers
Moore or Clausen to lead? After booting Delhomme to the curb, Matt Moore stepped in and looked very much the part…or at least that’s what he thought. The Panthers found a fallen gem in the draft and couldn’t help themselves with one of this years highest ranked QB rookies. Jimmy Clausen should do his best to overthrow Moore’s spot.
Gimme the Ball- DeAngelo Williams is in a contract year and will be pressing.
WR Numero dos- Our early guess is Brandon LaFell from LSU.

Chicago Bears
Who’s Cutler Going to Ask to the Big Dance? With a slew of average at best wide receivers, and a master-mind commander calling the plays from the sidelines, Jay Cutler is going to pick and choose his targets carefully. Who will best suit this new offense in Chicago? We will have eyes in training camp all summer.
So Who Does What? -After a breakout rookie season, Matt Forte now has an on the field roommate to share his carries. Chester Taylor wasn’t brought in to get coffee, so the percentage of carries will be watched carefully as well.
Sleeper Brewing In Martz’s System- Johnny Knox …Continue reading NFL Training Camp Fantasy Questions (All 32 Teams)

Late July brings a favorite tradition for many fantasy owners: NFL training camp. With camp comes the inevitable jockeying for starter spots, more playing time, or, in some cases, struggling to stay employed. Fantasy Football owners who know what players are winning these battles have a huge advantage come draft day. 2010 is no different, so here are some of the key training camp battles that fantasy owners need to be keeping an eye on.

• Houston Texans Running Back- It’s rare to have an open competition for a such a coveted spot on one of the NFL’s elite offenses. Houston’s failures in short yardage cost them dearly last year, and it is one of the team’s top priorities to resolve this year. 3 Headed Texan RB Monster Or Fantasy Sleeper Brewing?

• Oakland Raiders Running Back- Head Coach Tom Cable has stated before that he would prefer to use less of a committee approach, and rely on one back more. With the departure of Justin Fargas, the job is now an open competition for the speedy 2008 4th over-all pick, Darren McFadden, and the more bruising style of Michael Bush.

• Cleveland Browns Running Back- When the Browns finally gave Jerome Harrison a chance to be featured last year, he delivered in a huge way. His late season run delivered many Fantasy championships to owners savvy enough to have picked him up. Apparently he’ll have to fight to …Continue reading NFL Training Camp Fantasy Battles To Watch For

AFC North Fantasy Football Stock Market
This series of articles focuses on how the new breed of talent from the NFL draft plans to affect overall fantasy football player value. Continuing with our stock market report, Gridiron Experts takes a look at the AFC North.

*AFC North: This division was one most people thought would load up on fantasy options, but most were obtained through trade or free agency. Cincinnati added a new target and is the focus of this article.

Cincinnati Bengals

Jermaine Gresham TE 6’6″ 261 lbs.

The Bengals passed over Dez Bryant to add their new starting tight end. Gresham is a nightmare for defenses to cover, and he’ll give Carson Palmer a new receiving option this season. The need for a WR just wasn’t as great as it was for a big target that can go across the middle, make a tough catch, and maybe even lay out a hit on the way down. OhcoCinco may be a great dancer, but his first reaction after the catch is to get out-of-bounds or get to the ground. The Bengals have now added some fearless size and muscle to the passing game, something that I have thought was really lacking on this team.

Gresham will also improve the run game. Some may question his blocking ability, but even as a rookie at 21 years old, he’ll be showing up to training camp as the biggest tight end on the roster, looking more like a tackle. Despite his big frame, Gresham’s speed is surprisingly deceptive and should catch a few defenders off guard.

Will Be Awarded: TE1
Stock Value: High to Very High- Carson Palmer has never really had the Tight End option that Gresham brings to the table.  Passing plays will seem less complicated in press man situations as most of what Palmer has had to throw to are smaller speedy wideouts. Gresham will increase fantasy stock across the board.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Adding the center piece

The Steelers have had a rocking off-season, to say the least. The Steelers even had to send one of their more reliable weapons Santonio Holmes packing as a message to the players. On draft day though, the meat and potatoes were served with smiles to the Steeler nation with the addition of …Continue reading AFC North Fantasy Football Stock Market

The Forgotten Sleepers

Activity is fast and furious in the NFL off-season. From free agents and trades to the NFL draft, teams look to improve their roster though multiple ways. Sometimes with all this commotion going on we forget about some minor acquisitions that will or could have a big impact for the upcoming season. We all know about Julius Peppers going to the Bears or Thomas Jones to the Chiefs, but let’s look at 5 players you may have forgot joined new teams.

Mike Bell will be the spell back this season to LeSean McCoy, and as you all know in this day and age you need 2 capable running backs in the NFL. The wear and tear is typically too great for just one RB and Bell has proved to be a decent back-up when given the chance. Last season with the Saints he was able to muster 5 touchdowns while being the 3rd running back on the depth chart. Bell can run with some power and may see more carries around the goal line this year which could boosts his stats a bit. …Continue reading The Forgotten Sleepers

Browns Look Vanilla In 2010

The Good: It’s a new season and anything is possible.

The Bad: On paper the Browns offense looks very pedestrian like, and really have no fantasy studs.

The QB situation here is not going to get you excited. Cleveland added Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, and Colt McCoy in the off-season. They let former QB Derek Anderson go, and traded Brady Quinn so the outlook is entirely different here, some may say for the better, others for the worse. Delhomme and Wallace will likely compete for that starting spot but neither are really a fantasy option. I really wouldn’t recommend even looking at them for a bye week option either. McCoy could become a productive starter but that won’t be this season.

There are a few players worth a gamble in the later parts of the draft, but …Continue reading Browns Look Vanilla In 2010